When Deng Yi entered, he witnessed this scene.
Chu Zhao and Xiao Yu were examining each other's robes while palace maids and eunuchs crowded around, holding various jewels, hairpins, and floral ornaments. Amid this dazzling display, Xie Yanfang, dressed in official attire, was carefully selecting items—sometimes gazing intently, even picking them up to compare against his temples.
"Academician Huang just informed me that Your Majesty would end today's lessons early. I thought something had happened, but it turns out it was to see Lord Xie," Deng Yi said. "I can understand Your Majesty's sentiment, but Lord Xie—"
He looked at Xie Yanfang standing encircled by palace maids and jewels.
"Did Lord Xie rush to the palace immediately upon returning after a long absence just to indulge Your Majesty and Her Highness in lavish adornment?"
"I cannot comprehend this."
Xie Yanfang twirled a pearl flower and smiled. "Grand Tutor, you may interpret it as this: having witnessed life and death among my kin, I've seen through the vanity of worldly affairs and decided to seize the day."
Deng Yi didn't find his joke amusing but still offered a polite chuckle. "In that case, Lord Xie's father should send you to attend your grandfather with filial piety."
Xie Yanfang showed no offense at his words, laughing heartily instead.
Xiao Yu couldn't understand what the Grand Tutor and Xie Yanfang were discussing, but he didn't assume their laughter meant genuine joy.
His expression showed no unease; instead, he wore a faint smile tinged with indifference.
Seated high upon the Dragon Throne, he often failed to grasp the officials' court discussions—but it didn't matter.
He was the Emperor.
He didn't need to understand every word spoken.
"Grand Tutor, you've misjudged Lord Xie," Chu Zhao said with a laugh. "His arrival isn't why His Majesty skipped lessons."
She wrapped an arm around Xiao Yu's shoulders.
"It was I who invited His Majesty to enjoy the flowers, and I who asked Lord Xie to help select clothing and accessories."
Deng Yi replied, "Your Highness, though you need not attend lessons, you must know that 'mastery requires diligence, while indulgence leads to neglect.'"
Chu Zhao smiled. "Just this once, Grand Tutor. It won't lead to neglect."
"Your Highness, last autumn you had him admire the moon, in winter you viewed lanterns, and two months ago you went hunting. This neglect isn't just once, is it?" Deng Yi frowned.
Though Deng Yi didn't personally teach the Emperor, he oversaw the imperial studies. As the kingdom stabilized, the Emperor increasingly experienced the Grand Tutor's sternness.
His strictness extended beyond the Emperor to the academicians instructing him—within a year, all the Emperor's teachers had been replaced.
Xiao Yu, being just a child, felt apprehensive before the Grand Tutor. Unlike other officials who treated the Emperor with reverence, the Grand Tutor had once stated he was appointed by the late Emperor to assist the new sovereign.
Did that mean this new Emperor couldn't control him? The thought crossed Xiao Yu's mind, though he'd never considered controlling anyone.
Beyond his fear, he didn't want Chu Zhao reprimanded. Changing teachers meant little to him—he cared not who taught him, content to please the Grand Tutor. But it was said—the Grand Tutor could depose an Empress.
"Grand Tutor, it was I—" he began to confess.
Before he could finish, Chu Zhao pulled him into an embrace.
"Grand Tutor," she called out, "in an entire year, we've only indulged four or five times. That's too little. His Majesty is still a child."
Deng Yi stated, "The Emperor is not a child."
"The Emperor is also a child," Chu Zhao insisted, unwavering. "One only gets to be a child once in a lifetime. If he doesn't enjoy some ease now, how will he endure the future?"
Deng Yi frowned. "What absurd logic is this?"
Xie Yanfang watched their debate, listening with a smile but remaining silent.Xiao Yu leaned against Chu Zhao's embrace, listening to the two argue. Seeing the Grand Tutor frown no longer made him uneasy; instead, he couldn't help but chuckle.
His laughter made Chu Zhao laugh even more.
"Grand Tutor—" she said, "let him play for now. Once he's had his fill, when he grows up, he won't even be interested in playing anymore. His Majesty will be a diligent emperor in governing. Rest assured, Grand Tutor."
Deng Yi didn't argue with her childish reasoning, merely replying, "As long as Your Majesty is at ease."
Chu Zhao nudged Xiao Yu. "The Grand Tutor has agreed. Your Majesty, hurry and tell him."
Xiao Yu straightened up and said to Deng Yi, "Grand Tutor, after the flower-viewing banquet, I will write a rhapsody and ten pages of calligraphy to submit to my tutors."
"Isn't this what they call 'teaching through entertainment'?" Chu Zhao remarked from the side. "Grand Tutor, don't stay cooped up in the hall today. Come with His Majesty and me to the flower-viewing banquet."
Deng Yi replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty. As a child, I roamed the hills and fields admiring flowers to my heart's content. I have no interest in it now."
He was throwing her earlier words back at her. Chu Zhao laughed heartily and turned to Xie Yanfang. "Third Young Master, will you join us?"
Xie Yanfang smiled. "Unlike Lord Deng, I still enjoy admiring flowers to this day. I've already seen plenty on my way back, so I won't disturb Your Majesty and Her Majesty."
Chu Zhao feigned regret. "Without Lord Xie attending, the flower-viewing banquet loses its most beautiful scenery."
Xie Yanfang laughed lightly and bowed to Chu Zhao, acknowledging her teasing.
Chu Zhao and Xiao Yu headed to the imperial garden for the flower-viewing banquet, while Deng Yi and Xie Yanfang walked together toward the front court.
Having not seen each other for over half a year, there seemed to be a slight distance between them.
"My condolences, Lord Xie," Deng Yi spoke first.
Xie Yanfang thanked him and added, "You've worked hard, Grand Tutor."
Deng Yi smiled, looking at Xie Yanfang. "Lord Xie has also toiled despite not being at court. With family matters at hand, you still devoted effort to the Hezhou Rotten Grain Case. Without your assistance, the grain merchant Zheng family wouldn't have surrendered their account books so quickly, and the corrupt officials throughout Hezhou's bureaucracy wouldn't have been exposed so smoothly."
The Rotten Grain Case emerged after last year's flood disaster. Relief grain in Hezhou had been replaced with moldy, spoiled grain, leading to hundreds of deaths not from the flood itself, but from illnesses caused by the rotten grain and subsequent starvation.
However, investigating the matter proved difficult. Local officials claimed the grain had spoiled due to dampness from the flood, and collusion at all levels concealed the evidence. It wasn't until the Zheng family, a prominent grain merchant clan in Hezhou, repented and produced secret ledgers of their dealings with officials over the years that the truth came to light.
The Zheng family agreed to provide evidence only after persuasion from the Xie family.
The public remained unaware of this, but the court knew. Deng Yi had learned immediately when Xie Yanfang rushed to Hezhou in disguise.
Though it was unclear what Xie Yanfang had said to Old Master Zheng, after Xie Yanfang's departure, the old man dug up the hidden ledgers from his ancestral home, then clutching the account books, took his own life in front of the imperial envoy.
Xie Yanfang did not deny it but offered little detail, sighing, "Old Master Zheng was an old friend of my grandfather. My grandfather spoke to him from the heart as a dying man, and Old Master Zheng ultimately came to his senses."
Spoken from the heart? More likely, there was another transaction involved. Deng Yi smirked coldly.
Xie Yanfang did not elaborate further with Deng Yi. By then, they had reached the front court, where many officials were waiting. They greeted Xie Yanfang warmly upon seeing him.
"Lord, you've returned."
"Have you seen the Emperor and Empress? Quickly, there are many matters in the ministry awaiting your decisions."Amidst laughter and chatter, they crowded around Xie Yanfang and departed.
Deng Yi stood before the hall, watching them leave.
"Xie Yanfang has finally returned," one official remarked. "He truly left you, sir, to bear the brunt of the blame."
Mentioning this, another official grew furious: "He was the one who snatched away the disaster relief assignment, yet he spread rumors that he was avoiding the Grand Tutor, putting on an act of being ostracized at court."
"And Old Master Xie’s death was far too timely," another official whispered. "I suspect Minister Xie wasn’t exhausted from nursing his father’s illness—he was worn out from receiving condolences for months on end."
The Xie family remained quiet in the capital, with no elders from the clan arriving to this day. Yet, as the Emperor’s maternal relatives, they entrenched themselves in Dongyang. Far from the public eye and distant from the Emperor’s reach, they enjoyed a carefree existence.
"His absence from court hasn’t weakened his standing; instead, he’s taken the opportunity to win over many followers outside," another person added gravely.
"Exactly," the first official agreed, struck by a thought. "Grand Tutor, you should have detained Xie Yanfang and questioned him—where did the tens of thousands of dan of grain from the Hezhou Zheng family vanish to?"
Deng Yi smiled faintly. "Question him? If Minister Xie doesn’t wish to speak, who in this world could force an answer from him?"
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